Evading a knife
The taking of a life does no one honour.
(Kung Fu)
No promises
A knife is a very dangerous weapon to be faced with. We offer you no
promises or guarantees.
The best defence is not to be in the situation in the first place.
If you are caught unawares and have no choice but to defend yourself, do so with
utmost care and ferocity.
Your mind must be silent and your instincts completely alert. Be present. Be
composed. Be cautious.
Make every movement count. Do not second-guess yourself.
Feeling
Feeling the blade in contact with your body and moving away is an
essential place to begin.
Yielding skills from the beginners syllabus are now put to the test.
If you are not sensitive to contact, the blade could be inserted without your
knowledge.
Yielding/chin na
The yielding/chin na skills are now called upon to evade the stabs and slashes
of the blade.
Yielding and circularity are paramount.
It is important that you do not attempt to block, grab or lock the
knife-wielding limb. Keep the momentum going and avoid the blade.
Do not hold your arm out - it is an invitation.
Countering
Countering a blade is somewhat different to punches, kicks and grapples.
A sharp knife only needs gentle contact in order to tear your skin. If you are
in any way tense, it will make the skin far easier to cut.
As your confidence and skill increases, you must close the distance.
Folding
Folding allows you to get much closer to the attacker without increasing your
risk of injury.
You can use folding to limit the available options and seal the joints.
Aim to crumple the attacker.
The closer you are, the more you can use wardoff, stickiness and listening.
Jing
The ability to employ specific jing increases your ability to counter without
commitment.
Jing will project the attacking limb away or strike deep into the body without
the need for a conventional strike.
This can have a disorienting and powerful effect upon the attacker.
Legs
Legs are not so easy to manipulate when your attacker has a knife but do not
neglect them because of this.
A well-timed leg tap can offer a distraction or an uproot.
Penetrating defences
This skill now comes into its own.
Your nerve should be stronger now. You will need shen to penetrate the defences
of an armed attacker.
Hesitation, doubt or dithering will expose you to injury.
Ignore the blade, evade and strike.
Gravity
Gravity striking can be used with all previous strategies.
It also offers the means to significantly crumple the attacker by using
well-timed blows.
We can only train this skill for short periods of time in class because it has
some risk of injury.
Video clips
We have filmed a few examples of defence against a knife:
Page created 5 August 1999